Kean seeks $1.3M for Byram police headquarters

Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-7, has included about $1.3 million for Byram Township to house its Police Department in his Community Project Funding requests to the House Appropriations Committee.

The committee will consider Kean’s 15 requests during the fiscal year 2025 congressional appropriations process.

The request says Byram “is in dire need of a new Police Department headquarters, currently operating out of a set of mobile construction trailers from the 1970s.”

The funding would allow the Police Department to move into an existing 4,500-square-foot office building and renovate it, the request said.

Last November, Byram voters soundly defeated a referendum asking them to approve a $9.7 million bond ordinance to finance construction of a new municipal building and police headquarters.

Supporters of the plan had said a new police headquarters would provide a secure way to transport prisoners as well as proper storage for weapons and evidence.

$1.5M for Hopatcong

Kean also has requested about $1.5 million for Hopatcong. That money would be used to complete the initial phase of lead service line replacements along various roads, mainly near low-income households.

“Community Project Funding requests are an important way to send much needed federal dollars back home to New Jersey,” Kean said. “From supporting our police to improving aging infrastructure, I am excited to share the 15 community projects selected for consideration in the FY2025 appropriations process. I will continue to fight in Congress to get this funding across the finish line, so we can improve lives in the Garden State.”

Community Project Funding allows members of Congress to request direct funding for projects that benefit the communities they represent. Each member may submit up to 15 projects.

The funds are available to state, local, tribal and territorial governments, as well as some nonprofits. Only projects with evidence of strong community support will be considered.